Agent U7: Keegan (The D.I.R.E. Agency Series Book 7) (12 page)

Chapter 12

Keegan threw her arms around Clint’s neck and barked out a yelp. “Yes!”

Disbelief warred with excitement inside her, exterminating the beast. She could save Natalie and Riordan. She’d never have to be vulnerable to Cyrus again. She could pummel him with Jaydan’s super strength before stringing him up with some of Aidan’s electrical interrogation tactics.

She would never have to worry for her safety again.

Clint shoved her to arms length, his handsome features somber. “This isn’t a game, Keegan. Installing enhancements comes with a risk. A big one. I’m infusing your body with elements it wasn’t meant to house.”

“I believe in you,” she said in a rush, her heart soaring, knowing true independence was in sight.

He shook her. “Keegan, you have to understand. This is dangerous. If I felt like I had any other choice, I wouldn’t take the risk.” His voice lowered to a soft caress. “You’re too important to me.”

Her palm cupped his cheek as she leaned forward and kissed him. He was important to her, too. Way too important for her rebellious, independent nature.

Clearing his throat, he continued, “I won’t be lax in my ability to keep you safe. I don’t want you to ever feel helpless again.”

Straightening in his lap, she placed her hands on his shoulders. “Clint, I came here to ask you to give me the ability to teleport. This is more than I could’ve hoped for.” Gazing into his eyes, she said, “Listening to your mother yesterday, I realized what I wanted to do with my life.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “I want to be a D.I.R.E. agent.”

Picking her up in his arms, he stood and set her feet on the ground. “Giving you enhancements to defend yourself is completely different from being an agent, Keegan. You have no experience.” He sliced a hand through the air before placing his hands on his lean hips. “And, if I don’t figure out how to save the others, there will be no D.I.R.E. Agency.”

She stood on her toes to meet his gaze. “Don’t turn chauvinistic on me now Clint, just when I thought you were perfect.”

He blinked, his eyes round with surprise.

She poked a finger in his chest. “I’ve graduated from the school of hard knocks—with honors. Don’t you dare dismiss my goals as impossible. I’ve trained with Riordan and I’ve come a long way. I’ll go even farther once he and the others return.”

“Kee—”

“In the meantime,” she continued, “you and I know our enemies better than anyone. I can do this alone, if I have to.” She gave him a hard, passionate kiss on the mouth. “But, I’d much rather do it with you.”

He glanced away with a hesitant shake of his head. “You have got to be the most stubborn woman ever born.”

Excitement washed through her in waves. She threw her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist. “Maybe. But, you like me anyway, right?”

With a reluctant grin, he kissed her. “Look Tiger, the opportunity for something to go wrong is hovering right at the one hundred percent mark. I’d intended this for protection only.”

She traced the cleft in his chin with her forefinger. “I know. It’s just…” She shrugged. “After living locked away for so long, I feel like I have twenty years of energy just waiting to get out. I want to be in the thick of things.” Glancing down at the base of his throat, she said, “I want to prevent this from happening to anyone else.”

His pewter-blue eyes grew round with worry. “We’ll discuss the specs of each enhancement. If you’re uncertain about any of them, we won’t install them.”

“Agreed.” She gave an eager nod. “When do we start?”

Setting her down, he said, “This afternoon. I need to gather my team and the materials first. If James and my mother intend to use the others for their program, their lives aren’t in immediate danger. I need to take advantage of the time while Austin gets the agents in place.”

Giving her a hard kiss on the mouth, he turned her around to face the door. “Go get some rest. I can’t think straight knowing you’re naked under that shirt.”

* * *

Clint stared down at Keegan in the recovery bed. In slumber, she looked like a mythical goddess, her golden hair a halo around her flawless, lovely face, her delicate features soft and angelic. Her graceful carriage seemed to radiate from her sleeping form, though how, he wasn’t quite sure.

Maybe, it was the contrast of the bold, copper and gold armbands on each forearm that provoked its brilliance.

God above, what had he done?

He’d marred her incomparable glory, forced a responsibility on her that few in the world could handle.

All for his own peace of mind.

Never mind that she’d wanted the enhancements. Never mind that James was intent on kidnapping her again.

If he didn’t succeed with his plan, his friends could all die beside Mitchell and she would end up alone.

He squeezed his eyes shut. Mitchell…was
dead
. His mind still reeled with the knowledge. Courageous and loyal to the end, he’d risked his own life to save Jim.

And, lost.

They’d all depended on Mitchell’s confident, well-analyzed decisions. They’d counted on his experience and expertise. Even if D.I.R.E. did survive, how would the agency go on without him?

Clint leaned down and kissed Keegan’s forehead. He wouldn’t be around to see it. If all went as planned, he would go down with his family’s ship.

Knowing she would sleep for several more hours, Clint made his way to the HQ administration wing. Mitchell’s office was the only room in the complex that ensured certain privacy. No one on site could know his plans. He didn’t want to endanger them, or risk Keegan and the others finding out. They’d never let him go.

Walking in the door, Clint stopped short. Mitchell’s spicy scent, his commanding air hit him like a brick wall. The office was just as he’d left it, neat, clean, save for a few files on his desk. Memories of Robert and Kate holding them hostage assailed him, Mitchell’s sacrifice and bravery never more evident than on that day. They’d watched as Naylor beat Mitchell to a pulp, and yet, Jacobs never talked. Clint felt certain the only way Mitchell had made it through the ordeal was Angela’s presence in the room.

Up until the end, Mitchell had never once said he hated Naylor, or hated him for sleeping with Angela. He’d never badmouthed his former SEAL BUD/s teammate, or accused him of treachery.

On the other hand, Mitchell had admitted to his own living hell, but all he’d ever said about Robert was that he’d made some bad decisions. Naylor may have pushed him to limits most would’ve crumbled under, but Mitchell continued sacrificing, his loyalty to Naylor, and his children, true.

Shutting the door behind him, Clint made his way to the computer standing in the middle of the room. That’s why he had to do this. No one had ever sacrificed for Mitchell. Clint owed it to him to save his family and the agency he’d built with Jim.

Clint checked the time. Seven-thirty in the morning. His mother should be up by now. After all, she had guests.

Through the encrypted system, he dialed her number, knowing the call would be monitored and logged into Mitchell’s private system. He wanted to see her face this time, to see how she reacted to him now that the truth was out.

Her face appeared on the large screen, so different, so…ugly. Her pretty features were the same, older, but more vindictive. The laugh lines around her mouth, created from patronizing grins rather than true humor, were more pronounced, her dark blonde brows at a permanent dip. Darkness clouded her eyes in a gunmetal gray, hostility turning them nearly black.

Despite her appearance, it was her voice, her words, that speared him like the frogman’s pitchfork. “You can’t save them, Clint. We’ve all seen proof of that.”

Keegan’s enhancements gave him confidence, gave him one less thing to worry about.

Just stick to the plan, Robinson
.
Don’t let her get to you
.

“I have a proposition…
Mom
.”

He cringed at the informal title when absolute loathing swam in his veins. However, he had to play this up, had to show family loyalty. He only had one chance to do this right.

Her Hollywood-bad-movie laugh made him grit his teeth. “You? Have a proposition for
me
?” She scoffed. “
You
are not in charge here. I am.”

“No one’s questioning your authority.”

She blinked, her eyes round with surprise. She didn’t see that one coming.

“What is it?” she said, with a flip of her hand.

“I want to exchange myself for the others.”

Throwing back her head, she laughed with patronizing flourish. After the accident, he used to crave her laughter. That meant she wasn’t thinking about James. When she moved out for good, he’d wished for it every day.

Today, it chafed his raw nerve endings.

“Why in the world would I do that?”

“D.I.R.E. has Teague’s research. We also have Jim’s weapons technology and my enhancements. I can work with them all. I would make you a much stronger organization.”

One thing he would say, his mother royally screwed up when she sent Jim’s clone to the original weapons deal with Nathan Chalmers’ people. Even though Jim’s life had been spared, the injury to the clone prompted Mitchell to call for an official investigation that confiscated all of Jim’s computer files from the store where he’d worked. Although they now knew the clones were created with a self-sacrificing gene, the clone had no choice but to live with the disability until he died, because he’d been rendered a quadriplegic and couldn’t activate it.

Tapping a finger against her lips, she thought for a long moment. “I know you have the heat suit technology, too. I made sure the Warner’s paid for stealing your design.”

Shock filtered through him, straightening his spine. “You?”

“Yes, of course,” she said, with nonchalance. “I made sure their company failed after John pulled that stunt at Harold Mills’ fundraiser.”

“Why?” he said, dumbfounded at the revelation.

“Harold is a supporter of the cause. Warner ruined Harold’s chances in the election, and he stole your design.”

Harold Mills. Jim had mentioned that she’d hired Jock and
Harold
’s men. Clint would bet his life’s savings that his mother was behind the assassination attempt Mills had put on Dan Meeks. The former senator and district attorney—Keegan’s father—had been a lifelong enemy of the Matheson family. Probably the only thing keeping him alive was Cyrus’s devotion to his daughter.

What puzzled Clint the most was that his mother still felt some kind of…
loyalty
toward him. Yet, she’d killed his boss and kidnapped his friends. She’d gotten him the job at D.I.R.E. through Jim, and was now trying to destroy it.

“Do you have the time travel technology?” She studied him, her mouth puckered.

Her question woke him from his jumbled thoughts. He’d hoped she wouldn’t ask, but had expected it, anyway.

“It’s been archived. The machine’s been dismantled.”

She searched his gaze. “You can still get it, Clinton. I have faith in you.”

That’s a first. He gave a brief nod.

Her gaze remained on him a long moment. “What about the agents I have here? I can’t free them knowing their powers will remain in effect.”

He waved a hand in front of him as a sign of assurance. “I can shut down their systems before they leave. That’s not a problem.”

Tapping a finger against her mouth again, she squinted her eyes. “I want the Meeks girl, too.”

No
. If he’d ever needed a poker face, it was in this moment. He couldn’t let on how much Keegan meant to him.

How much he loved her.

With a nonchalant shrug, he said, “I don’t even know where she is. Can’t we just create another clone for James? Why do we need her?”

Carol gave an impatient sigh. “He’s loved the girl for years.”

“She doesn’t love him.” The words spewed from his mouth without thought.

“I know, but she keeps him motivated.”

He feigned an annoyed expression. “James can figure that one out on his own. I’m not a matchmaker.” With a long-suffering sigh, he said, “Look, we both know that by killing Mitchell, you’ve destroyed D.I.R.E., which is what you set out to do. Without my science, there’s no chance of it continuing on.”

“I still want DNA samples of them all before they go.”

Was there no end to these so-called negotiations? In reality, they both knew she had complete control. His only bargaining chip was Teague’s DNA research. His mother needed a cure.

“Fine,” Clint said. “But, I think you should know that Teague’s already concerned about how much longer she can do her job.”

His mother appeared deep in thought, her forehead wrinkled.

Come on, come on
…

“Why take on any extra risk?” he added. “We don’t need her. I have it all.”

Her squinty eyes held a look of distrust. “And you’re doing this only to free your friends…?”